Bay RMP
The Bay planning area encompasses Goodnews Bay and Bristol Bay. Bristol Bay has the world’s largest wild salmon fisheries, is home to caribou, bear and moose and is critical habitat for seals, whales and walrus. The Goodnews Area is home to the threatened Stellar’s Eiders and provides critical seasonal habitat for caribou. This entire planning area will be open to mineral development despite concerns for subsistence and economy which depend on habitat preservation.
The Bay Resource Management Plan is particularly problematic because the planning area is adjacent to the proposed development site of the controversial Pebble Mine. As with most of the BLM planning areas, the lands in the Bay area have been largely undeveloped. A major concern associated with this plan is the enormous potential for a development rush in an attempt to access mineral resources while market values are high. The cumulative impacts of so much mineral development could devastate the sustainability of the fisheries.
Latest Developments:
Bay Proposed RMP/FEIS protest period closed on January 14, 2008. AWL submited a protest letter with several other interested communities, groups and businesses.
The agency is beginning the process of reviewing and resolving protests. BLM estimates the Record of Decision (ROD) will be completed mid 2008.
Summary of Alternatives
| Alternative | Description |
|---|---|
| Alternative A | All lands would remain closed to oil and gas leasing, and hard rock mining. |
| Alternative B | Recommends lifting (d)(1) withdrawals to allow mineral development on all unencumbered lands. Selected lands are closed to mineral entry while under BLM management. |
| Alternative C | Hard Rock Mining - areas recommended for special management would remain closed. |
| Oil & Gas Leasing – special management areas would stay closed or have restricted use. | |
| Alternative D | Hard Rock Mining – Same as Alt. B, all lands would be opened to development. |
| Oil & Gas Leasing – Same as Alt. B, all lands would be opened to development. |
Planning Area Issues:
1. Carter Spit ACEC - Acreage has been reduced in the final plan to 36,220 acres from 61,251 acres in the draft plan.
• Special management proposed to maintain species diversity and protect habitat for Stellar’s eiders, migratory birds, harbor seals, brown bears, and plant species. Area possesses important subsistence resources and cultural sites.
• Special Fish and Wildlife habitat management plan to be prepared by BLM.
• Will become Open to oil and gas leasing, subject to general regulations and seasonal closures.
• Will become Open to hard rock mining, subject to general regulations.
2. Bristol Bay ACEC - 989,202 acres unencumbered lands. Propsed in Alternative C but not adopted in the final plan under the agencies preferred Alternative (D).
• This area provides calving grounds and winter range for the Mulchatna Caribou Herd, spawning grounds for 5 species of salmon and freshwater fish, year-round habitat for moose, summer fisheries forage base for brown bears, nesting trumpeter swans and tundra swans. Local residents depend upon the important subsistence resources and cherished cultural sites. These lands are located downstream of Pebble Mine, a proposed open-pit gold/copper mine.
• Will become Open to oil and gas leasing and hard rock mining, subject to general regulations.
• No special management plan for fish and wildlife, subsistence and cultural resources.
3. Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSRs)- No rivers designated for protections in the RMP/FEIS.
• The rivers in the planning area provide critical salmon spawning habitat as well as habitat for resident fish. Historical uses on these rivers and adjacent lands dates back thousands of years. Commercial fishing in the Bristol Bay region is the largest economic contributor to fishing revenues for the State of Alaska. • Three river segments were found suitable but not eligible for designation due to issues of adjacent land ownership.
• 45 river/river segments/stream/lakes reviewed for eligibility. 43 found to have no outstanding values under BLM standards.
4. Discretionary ROPs and Stipulations that do not offer strong protections to prisitine lands and areas identified as special and deserving of protections.
5. No Wilderness inventories or designations in the planning area.
Major Changes Proposed for Managing Mineral Resources
The 2.5 million acres of BLM-managed lands in the planning area are currently closed to mining and leasing. Alternative D, the agency’s “preferred” alternative, recommends the revocation of (d)(1) withdrawals, a significant action which will open over 99% of the pristine planning area to mineral development and habitat disturbance. And while Alternative D recommends special restrictions for mining and leasing operations within the proposed Carter Spit ACEC, it does not recommend special management for the resources on the Bristol Bay watershed lands.
Impacts to Subsistence Resources and Uses
Despite resounding public opposition and concerns for the protection of fisheries, wildlife habitat and traditional subsistence uses of the resources, BLM plans to open virtually every acre in the planning area to oil and gas leasing and hard rock mining.
